How a chinese silkworm has the power to ease my asthma

When keen athlete Stephen Kershaw was laid low by a bad bout of asthma he sought help from a treatment using the Chinese silkworm.

Scientists have recently discovered that the tiny creature produces a unique enzyme which has an anti-inflammatory action.

Despite taking antibiotics and oral steroids, the 18-year-old A-level student was unable to shake off a bug that had exacerbated his asthma and had been forced to abandon his regular visits to the gym.

'I was wheezing a lot, producing a lot of phlegm, and having difficulty breathing,' he says. 'It lasted four months and I just wasn't able to get well.'

Stephen, who also suffers from diabetes, found that the oral steroids were affecting his blood-sugar levels, so he came off them.

'I was feeling pretty ill when my mother heard about a natural alternative for asthma sufferers, which involved taking a capsule and using a mouth spray,' he says.

'I was in a very difficult position, because I needed to go back on the oral steroids to improve my asthma, but doing that would affect my diabetes.'

Stephen's mother, Pamela, turned to local Newcastle GP Dr Kamal Anand, who offers alternative treatments as well as traditional medicines.

'Stephen was on two inhalers a day to keep his asthma under control, but he kept on having bad attacks and we really didn't want him to go on steroids again,' she says.

Dr Anand suggested a product called Asthma Ease. The remedy involves taking the capsule containing the silkworm enzyme along with a mouth spray.

After a week, Stephen's condition had improved enough for him to put off going back on oral steroids. 'I was still having to take my asthma inhalers, but I felt I could lead a normal life again.

'By the beginning of the third week I had started back at the gym and was having no difficulty breathing while I was on the running machine.'

In asthma, an allergic reaction makes the airways inflamed and narrowed, causing the familiar wheezing and difficulty breathing.

The enzyme serrapeptase is made by bacteria that live in the gut of the silkworm and is secreted in its saliva. It has antiinflammatory qualities that have been used in the treatment of arthritis.

Serrapeptase eats away at the cocoon of the silkworm and allows it eventually to fly away as a butterfly.

According to scientists, the enzyme, which has only recently been isolated, attacks dead tissue, eating it up, and also blocks chemicals that produce inflammatory responses.

The mouth spray part of the treatment contains three key ingredients, which help reduce the tightness and narrowing of the airways.

Lutein is an antioxidant, found in green, leafy vegetables, which is known to have qualities that are protective against asthma.

Tylophora asthmatica is an Indian climbing plant which relaxes muscle and by itself has been shown to have an effect on asthma patients when its leaves are chewed raw. The third ingredient-Coleus Forskohli, has a natural anti-histamine effect which calms down the narrowing of the airways.

Besides feeling better, Stephen's lung capacity had also improved. Dr Anand measured what is known as the peak flow reading. In a healthy teenager, a score of 500 would be expected.

Before becoming ill, Stephen's peak flow was topping 450, but had dropped to 380. 'He was finding breathing quite an effort when he came to see me,' says Dr Anand.

'But there was a significant improvement in his peak flow, which went back to over 400 within a short space of time.

'The enzyme in the serrapeptase capsule has reduced the inflammation and has also eaten away at the phlegm, which was obstructing breathing, while the spray has calmed down the linings of the airways and allowed them to open.'

Jeanette Manning, of Biomax, the American company that developed the treatment, says: 'Individually, the ingredients in the spray were known to help with asthma symptoms, but the value of the silkworm enzyme has been a recent discovery.

'We hope to start trials soon in America but hundreds of asthmatics have told us that they have gained relief from using the capsule and spray.'

A group of independent doctors are planning to set up UK trials, too.

'It wouldn't have been beneficial for Stephen to be on longterm steroids,' says Dr Anand. 'They can reduce your immunity, make you obese, cause psychosis and glaucoma. This would not have been good for him, particularly as he already has diabetes and they were affecting his blood-sugar levels.

'I would caution asthma sufferers not to come off asthma medication without speaking to their doctor, but this does seem to work where conventional treatment fails to help.'

The Asthma Research Campaign says it is openminded about the use of alternative remedies such as Asthma Ease.

'There is some suggestion that tylophora asthmatica may be beneficial to sufferers, but we couldn't recommend its use without seeing the results of a detailed trial,' says a spokeswoman. 'We get a lot of people telling us that alternative treatments work for them.

'However, it's important that people taking complementary alternative treatments tell their doctor and that they also continue to take their prescribed asthma drugs.'

Edzard Ernst, Professor of Complementary Medicine at Exeter University, says people should take alternative treatments, if they are convinced they are getting a benefit.

'Some of the herbs, such as tylophora asthmatica, originate from India and seem beneficial in various treatments. A lot of mainstream drugs have been developed from ancient herbal remedies and we shouldn't dismiss them out of hand.'